Please take a moment and make a financial contribution to TheFunded. If we have helped you, help us with resources to further grow the both the site and our entrepreneur training program, The Founder Institute.

Sequoia Capital CERTIFIED

Firm Rating:

Firm Homepage:

FIRM OVERVIEW: Medium Private VC founded in 1972 based out of Menlo Park, USA (US West)

FIRM DESCRIPTION: Sequoia Capital is a venture capital firm founded by Don Valentine in 1972. The firm has offices in the US, China, India and Israel. Sequoia has funded an unprecedented number of enormously successful companies including Google, Yahoo, Paypal, Electronic Arts, YouTube, NVIDIA, Cisco Systems, Oracle and Apple. Sequoia estimates that 10% of the NASDAQ’s value is made up of firms they have funded.

Posted by
tfjim
on 2013-07-19

PUBLIC:

How about stories while funded by them? How did they help you grow? Did they make introductions? Are they supportive in providing whatever resources you need? Did they just give you money and stopped there?

Anyone with multiple VC firm experience who can give an objective comparative review is highly appreciated.

I contacted the firm and within one hour I was contacted back. At one point I was in contact with 4 different senior people with the firm who all followed up. Mike Moritz wrote me back and told me that they were going to pass. They understood the business and did not waste time. Make sure you do research before you approach them, because if they think there might be a fit, they will respond. Top firm run by top professionals.

I pitched David Spector recently. He has been with Sequoia for about two years so I'm happy to write his first review on TheFunded. Note: It was an impromptu pitch and demo and David had no materials beforehand, so keep that in mind. My takeaways:

- He's a sharp guy. Asked good questions about our product and business model and paid close attention to my words.
- He offered concrete suggestions on what it would take to attract his and Sequoia's interest specific to my company.
- He is open. I asked him all manner of direct questions and he replied with direct answers.

Net: David is smart, direct and has a sense of humor. I felt crystal clear on where things stood and next steps.

Posted by
Krassen
on 2012-01-18

PUBLIC:

I will have a meeting next month with them, so this is more of a question than comment. Warren Hogarth graciously agreed to meet for establishing a connection, even though he was honest upfront that they would not be interested in an early-stage deal that is outside the Bay Area.

Obviously, I know that Sequoia's reputation is fantastic, but do not know enough about them to even begin to contemplate a move. Feedback will be highly appreciated; details in the private section.

Posted by
scottdunlap
on 2011-01-28

PUBLIC:

I enjoy pitching Sequoia for one simple reason. They are the purest form of greed on Sand Hill Road. If you have something that fits their model, few VC's will do more to help make that a reality, including stepping all over you (which, BTW, they should if you slow it down).

The Sequoia pitch is simple:

1) What it does.
2) Which of the 7 deadly sins does it serve. Yes, this is actually part of their screening. All great investments fundamentally feed one of the 7 deadly sins, which in turn creates an internal need to use it and share it with others. It's not stupid, it's genius. Just a little short on the ethical spectrum.
3) How it grows 1000x per year. Yes, that's the growth rate of their best investments over the last 20 years. Don't think of this as an elitest criterium, think of it as a challenge for you to see the highest growth areas of your business.
4) Data that backs up 2 and 3.

If you have something growing like mad, pitch Sequoia. If you have a hunch and some theories, don't bother unless you can build something that proves it in less than 30 days.

Sequoia doesn't want to be your friend. They want to get rich. You can decide whether or not that's what you want, but they will be that voice for sure.

Both these guys are used car salesman - garg is worse then goguen. he is a slimey guy with an uneasy demeanor to show that he is smart. his iq is in the dumps and just fortunate he is hanging around these guys. avoid him like q plague. goguen is half decent with some experience but yet i would avoid him.

Posted by
eastcoaster
on 2010-07-25

PUBLIC:

We pitched 30+ VCs in first meetings for our last round. A real roadshow. Vanishingly few firms (a handful?) had the gumption to take a first meeting, express substantial interest, then never reply to an email again. Sad - and not the way to treat an entrepreneur who will be building companies for a long time.

i've personally seen three deals where sequoia slashed valuations drastically at the last minute, right before closing. pretty hardball folks. however, can't argue with their results or ability to pick winners.

At first, I was shocked to learn that Sequoia was part of a private equity consortium that bought First Republic Bank. Then, upon further thought, it's no surprise that top venture capitalists would start to abandon the venture capital model first...

Has venture investing gotten that bad? I know that top venture funds have the authority to do all types of deals, including public market investments. It makes sense for VCs to try and make money however they can, so I get buying a publicly traded technology company or even taking some innovative traditional businesses private, like a newspaper with a good online division.

Mike got his backside toasted a bit in the final moments of Kawasaki's Revenue Bootcamp today by a conference attendee. But he rose to the challenge, offering to read and respond to most any pitch emailed to him from the 200+ (predominately baby boomer) audience.

Mike was on the last panel of the conference with Paul Graham of yCombinator moderated by Guy. Early in the hour long discussion, both Mike and Paul admitted that one of the optimal characteristics of entrepreneurs they fund is youth, specifically those under 30 years old. They gave sound justifications, which probably rang hollow with the audience.

The confrontation stemmed from a final question an attendee asked that was blatantly dismissed by Moritz. The question seemed authentic enough. The attendee sought the panel's advice for "older" founders / entrepreneurs when approaching VC's for funding.

Paul didn't get a word in before Mike just flipped his response to a series of off-hand remarks and jokes. Guy tried to pursue, but Mike wasn't interested in dealing directly with the question, and that's when the fun started.

Someone in the audience challenged Mike to answer the question, and asked the audience to raise their hands if any were entrepreneurs over 30. Needless to say, at least 85% of the audience raised their hands. The whole auditorium erupted into applause when Mike was challenged by the provoker to "answer the question!"

To Mike's credit, he said he was willing to take on this challenge, and would consider and respond to any well articulated pitch that was emailed to him, no matter how old the founder was.

I know I'm up for this challenge. How about the rest of you?

Leading up to this final question, Guy had moderated an hour discussion with both Mike and Paul Graham of Ycombinator. Kawasaki was quick to note that both Sequoia and Ycombinator seemed to focus on young entrepreneurs, less than 30 years old. One of from the audience. where a "older founder"

Sequoia has yet to really tap into Europe and head office in Menlo sent me over to the Israeli crew - but have resorted to contacting PA's to get through to pull at least a response... which is - it's holiday season, so you might have to wait. So basically trying to get some eyeballs on the pitch still.

Posted by
generalist
on 2008-06-14

PUBLIC:

Sequoia Capital's investment strategy is very simple - the product/service has to serve a very large market. They can fix everything else (replace management, keep developing the product, etc.) but they can not fix the market. If you want to pitch them - make sure that your story shows a huge market for your offering.

We were bounced around the firm for our initial pitch and landed on Joe Dobrenski. Lesson learned, only pitch a real player in the firm.

Joe was a nice enough guy (I suppose), but a complete waste of our time. He was really really really late and then hurried us along. No eye contact or attempt to engage in a meaningful discussion. Bolted for the door after 20 minutes.

If anyone sells Dale Carnegie classes... please call on Sequoia Capital and sell them the basic intro course on how to win friends and influence people.

The Partner that we were scheduled to meet with (through a referral) was 30+ minutes late. He rushed us through almost every pitch slide in our presentation. As he hurried out of the room after 25 minutes he kept saying, "Let's stay in touch. Let's stay in touch".

Posted by
Complication
on 2007-09-22

PUBLIC:

Worked with Sequoia (both Israel and US). Sequoia is here to make money for their investors and partners. These are the white sharks of Sand Hill road and whomever doesn't know it should! Swimming with sharks can be both rewarding and dangerous.

If you are looking for someone to help you find a market for your technology, they are probably not it.

If however you:
1. Are an execution maven
-or-
2. Have deep pockets to help you keep a lid on dilution